Payson hasn't had much luck against Northwest Christian recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Longhorns are taking a road trip to face off against the Crusaders at 6:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Payson sitting on six straight victories and Northwest Christian on three.
On Thursday, Payson made easy work of Bourgade Catholic and carried off a 3-0 win.
One reason for the win was Payson's just kept getting better, winning each set by more points than the last. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-18, 25-11, 25-8.
Windsong Burdette
| 09/25/25 @ Bourgade Catholic | 8 |
| 09/22/25 @ ALA - Ironwood | 7 |
| 09/18/25 vs Benjamin Franklin | 7 |
| 09/10/24 vs Odyssey Institute | 7 |
| 09/03/25 @ Holbrook | 6 |
Payson's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Windsong Burdette, who had eight digs. Those eight digs gave Burdette a new career-high.
Payson was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 16 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in ten consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Northwest Christian got the win against Bourgade Catholic on Monday by a conclusive 3-0.
The final score came out to 25-9, 25-18, 25-10.
Northwest Christian found their leader in sophomore Mallory East, who had four digs and three aces. East also set a new season-high mark in assists with 16. Lilly Bliss also deserves some recognition as she served her first aces of the season.
Payson's record now sits at 17-3. As for Northwest Christian, their record is now 17-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Wednesday's contest: Payson has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 11.2 aces per game. However, it's not like Northwest Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.6 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Payson suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Northwest Christian when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Can the Longhorns avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
